Item No. 1 of 1

INVESTIGATOR: Huttenga, B.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
OTTAWA, COUNTY OF
12220 FILLMORE ST RM 331
WEST OLIVE, MICHIGAN 494608986

TRANSFERRING LAND AND DOWNLOADING KNOWLEDGE: CATALYZING NEW FARMER DEVELOPMENT IN WEST MICHIGAN.

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Land access. Mentors. Resources. Capital. These are some of the primary needs that are common among beginning farmers. In Ottawa County in West Michigan, only 8% of farmers are under 35 years old and 30% are over the age of 65. Strong support systems for those farmers exist in this region. The goal of this proposed project is to bring those systems together collaboratively to address beginning farmer needs, resulting in an increase of well trained, well-equipped new farmers entering the industry. This will help to curtail the net loss of farmers, farms, and farmland that West Michigan has been experiencing for decades. This project proposes to establish a sustainable, supportive collaborative that can connect our beginning farmers to the resources they need; develop land acquisition resources that do not currently exist for the region; educate beginning farmers through mentor relationships with experienced farmers; and catalyze the completion of succession plans that protect land needed by beginning farmers. This will be accomplished by engaging the 478 identified members of local young farmer groups in a needs assessment process; incentivizing attendance by 3.5% of our aging farmers at three succession planning workshops; incentivizing the final completion of a succession plan by those attendees; connecting beginning and experienced farmers in a networking format to foster mentor relationships; fully populate our local resource and referral website with new and existing beginning farmer resources; providing technical assistance to access educational and other resources; develop ag land mapping and a related land acquisition web tool to connect new farmers to the land they need. This public-private partnership project will enhance the success of beginning farmers through mentoring, technical assistance, and education.

OBJECTIVES: The overall project goal is to curtail the net loss of farmers, farms, and farmland in Ottawa County (the County). The worked performed under this award will be the first phase of the an ongoing collaborativeproject. Due to the fact that the award is a Simplified Standard Grant, the primary goalfor this one year, $44,885 grant project will be the establishment of a robust collaborative that can accelerate and improve YNBF development and education in the County and the region by achieving thefollowing objectives that have been established:Convene a regional collaborative centered in theCounty that will aggregate its diverse talents to achieve additional objectives listed below, which will be refined by engaging the three YNBF groupsthat are part of the Project.Catalyze the many resources currently available to the 478 YNBFs in the County on learning to farm, land transfer, land acquisition, succession planning, and diversification. Primary resources include Farm Answers (farmanswers.org), the Farmland Information Center (farmlandinfo.org), USDA - New Farmers (newfarmers.usda.gov), MSUE - Farm Management (canr.msu.edu/farm management), and Michigan Farm Bureau - Farm Business Resources (michfb.com/mi/farm-legal-resources). The Partners and Collaborators will commit to assisting each farmer seeking help through these clearinghouse resources to make sure their needs are met, using a customer relationship manager application to track progress and measure outcomes beyond the term of the grant.Connect inexperienced farmers with experienced farmersiv to develop mentor relationships that will increase the number of new farmers entering the industry and help them locate farmland, farm longer, and farm more profitably.Activate the newly developed Ottawa County Focus on Agriculture Plan, which outlines four key objectives identified by Ottawa County farmland owners that can help prevent the loss of farmers, farms, and farmland.

APPROACH: METHODS:The Project will plan for and/or conduct the following activities for each objective stated below and in accordance with the logic model that was included as part of the grant application. Again, it is important to note that the activities planned are intended to be reasonable and achievable within the grant limits of a one year term and $44,885000 in funding, but some will likely occur beyond the close of the grant period as a part of ongoing activities that the collaborative will engage in. Planned activities are as follows:Convene:Build relationships with Partners and Collaborators through regular meetings, sustaining the collaborative beyond the term of this grant so that additional funding can be secured and project goals can be met.Assess YNBF needs through two information gathering/networking events with our YNBF group and recruited experienced farmers to validate our approach and identify other critical needs. These events will likely be paired with existing local farm events to increase our chances of high attendance and participation versus hosting standalone events.Catalyze:Incentivize succession-planning completion through a workshop(s) hosted in Ottawa County, utilizing existing curriculum from MSUE. Participants will receive a stipend when the plan is signed by all parties and includes a YNBF. This process will likely require more than the one-year grant term to complete.Provide stipends for farmers of all stages and ages who attend the biannual Taking Root Succession Planning event in 2021 hosted by MFB and the Legacy Conference event in 2021 hosted by Farm Journal. This will also allow us to cultivate and recruit new mentors to pair with YNBFs.Provide technical assistance to access YNBF educational resources, helping them to review, prioritize, select, and participate in appropriate educational and training resources from the different clearinghouses available, primarily those listed in the Objectives and Outcomes section. Regular periodic contact will be made with each YNBF to monitor progress.Connect:Farmer to farmer networking events will connect YNBFs with experienced farmers to facilitate the transfer of land and downloading of knowledge to the new generation of farmers and develop guided pathways to successful farming. This event may occur after the grant period closes, but all requested funding support will be paid and drawn down within the grant period.Adapt a farmland locator website that will offer new farmers a direct and simple way to find farmland to rent or buy that suits their specific needs. The website may also have the potential to support the establishment of land transfer relationships and mentor relationships.Activate:Populating Ottawa County Farm Resource page will centralize and make more accessible the dozens of beginning farmer educational resources that are currently available, including the educational clearinghouse that is being proposed by Michigan State University during this same grant cycle under the Educational Teams program code.Ag land planning will enhance our ability to curtail farmland loss and keep that valuable natural resource available for YNBFs. The mapping planned will help quickly and easily identify farmland that has any or all of the following attributes: protected by a permanent easement; protected by a development rights agreement; eligible for the Qualified Agricultural Property Tax Exemption; has prime soil; has adequate groundwater resources available; zoned and master planned for agriculture.Adaptive management, outreach, and promotion will be key to the success of the Project. The Project Director (PD) will perform the majority of the management tasks, and all Partners will contribute to outreach and promotion activities.EVALUATION:Overview:The Performance Improvement division of the Ottawa County Planning and Performance Improvement Department (PPID) will evaluate the "Transferring Land and Downloading Knowledge: Catalyzing the Development of New Farmers in West Michigan" grant project. This Evaluation Plan was developed by the Performance Improvement division in conjunction with grant administrators. The Evaluation Plan outlines the goals, objectives, and target measures that will be used to evaluate the grant-funded project. The Plan also identifies the evaluation services that the Performance Improvement division will provide. This Evaluation Plan may need to be revisited and revised once the Needs Assessment for this project is complete.Goals & Objectives:Reduce or stop the loss of farms and farmland in Ottawa County by ensuring that young, new and/or beginning farmers (YNBF) fill the boots of retiring farmers, and that these new farmers are well-trained and capable of making a successful career in farming.Objectives:1) Convene a regional collaborative centered in Ottawa County that will aggregate its diverse talents to achieve objectives 2-4 listed below.2) Catalyze the resources available to YNBFs on learning to farm, land transfer, land acquisition, succession planning, and diversification.3) Connect YNBFs with experienced farmers to develop mentor relationships that will increase the number of new farmers entering the industry and help them locate farmland, farm longer, and farm more profitably.4) Activate the newly developed Ottawa County Focus on Agriculture Plan.Target Measures:Target measures are not listed by objective because many of them are applicable to more than one project objective. Instead, target measures are listed by the timeframe in which they can be measured. Short-term measures can be evaluated upon completion of the one-year grant cycle. Long-term measures will not be evaluated upon completion of the one-year grant cycle, but may be evaluated in 3-5 years. Target measures are included on the following pages.Evaluation Services:The Performance Improvement division of the PPID will provide the following evaluation services for this grant project:•Create data collection tools to track required data. Some data can likely be tracked using a customer relationship manager application.•Create pre- and post-program surveys and/or interview questions to obtain data from participants. Some data can likely be tracked using a customer relationship manager application.•With the assistance of the grant administrator and project partners, obtain data from participants via surveys and/or interviews. Some data can likely be tracked using a customer relationship manager application.•Analyze collected data.Create a report following the completion of the grant cycle to explain the success of the project.